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PotpourrEMAIL
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Vol. 1, No. 2, 1 July 1999. Circulation: 60 and growing!
(C) 1999 Boylston Historical Society and Museum
7 Central St., PO Box 459, Boylston, MA 01505
boyhisoc@ma.ultranet.com
508-869-2720
Editors: Betty L. Thomas and Judith Haynes
boyhisoc@ma.ultranet.com
Boylston Historical Society and Museum Web Page:
http://www.ultranet.com/~boyhisoc/index.shtml
CONTENTS. Welcome; What's in a name?; Time Capsule; Story Time
with Norm; Oral History; Mystery Solved; Book of the Month;
BHS NEWS; Boylston Queries; On The Web; Humor
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Welcome to our Brand New email newsletter! Month number two!
If you have a story to tell, information to impart,a good genealogy joke,
computer or web genealogy info, a Boylston genealogy Query, or anything
that would be of interest to our readers--please
email us at: boyhisoc@ma.ultranet.com
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What's in a name ?
For those of you who are not members of BHS and don't receive the
snailmail newsletter, it is called The Potpourri. Sooooo, we thought the
appropriate name for this version would be PotpourrEMAIL. This email
version is not meant to repeat or copy the snailmail version, but to
complement it, with the addition of topics of interest to those with
computer and web capabilities.
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A Brief history of Boylston
The land that is now Boylston came from the Second or North Precinct of
Shrewsbury and the southern section of Lancaster. The town was
incorporated in 1786. The Town of Boylston is named for Ward Nicholas
Boylston, a very rich man who befriended and supported the town. Boylston
was strictly an agricultural community until industry came in the form of
mills, located in the Sawyer's Mills section of town. When the Wachusett
Reservoir was put in at the turn of the century, it flooded the Nashua
River Valley where the mills were located. The town never recovered as an
industrial entity. Now Boylston is a very quiet bedroom community.
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Millennium Time Capsule 1999-
Love History? Need a unique gift? Like to Write down your thoughts?
Boylston Historical Society will be sealing the Millennium Time Capsule on
Friday Dec. 10 at 7:30 pm. It will contain archival sheets of paper on
which will be written YOUR thoughts, views, ideas, or stories about what it
is like to live in the 20th century.
Call, write, or drop in to the Historical Society anytime after Sept. 1 to
purchase YOUR archival paper. It will also be available at the Oct. and
Nov. programs. You may purchase as many archival sheets as you need
(Members - $4/ sheet Non-members - $5/ sheet). Each archival paper comes
with an instruction sheet.
All Millennium Time Capsule entries must be returned to Boylston Historical
Society by WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 1st.
You are invited to the sealing of the Time Capsule at a ceremony on Friday,
Dec. 10 at 7:30 with reception to follow.
The time capsule box will be stored in the Boylston Historical Society
Vault for 50 years, at which time it will be opened and the contents
examined, reboxed and resealed, for another 50 years....and so on.
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Story Time with Norm -
My name is Norman Houghton French, Boylston native, 71 years old.
I remember in 1935, when I was 7 years old living in the center of Boylston
on Scar Hill Road, seeing several GAR veterans of the Civil War, who were
around 90+ years old, congregating by the stone wall across from my house.
They were waiting for transportation to Pine Grove Cemetery to be involved
in Decoration Day, as it was known then, not Memorial Day which came into
being after WWII.
I subsequently went down to the cemetery and watched the Worcester Brass
Band march into the cememtery playing a very solomn dirge, that made me
shiver, followed by WWI veterans and the Civil War veterans being
transported in and open top car.
I must say, comparing ceremonies of the 1990's to those of the 1930's,
there is no comparison! The bands used today do not play dirges. They
(the now Generation) play Rock and Roll music instead of martial music, on
the band stand, which was very appropriate for my generation.
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Oral History
by Judy Haynes
Judy will start her Oral History info next month. This month she has been
very busy with her family visiting her.
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Mystery Solved
by Fred Brown, Pres.
The granite watering trough at the top of Scar Hill Road and Main Street
has been a mystery object for as long as I have been with the Society. Who
put it there and why. Sure we know it was to water horses and that was all
we knew. Carved into the face are the words, "Blessed Are The Merciful."
While helping to check for photos to be used in yet another Society book, I
came across a postcard with a photo of the trough. On the back in script
was written that the trough was given to the town by the Society for the
Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. The reason? The year was exceptionally
hot and several horses had died from the heat.
The photo clearly shows a fieldstone base, which is now missing. After
supplying the above information the only thing missing was the date of the
gift. Further investigation may shed light on the last mystery of the
watering trough.
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Book of the Month -
July's Book of the Month is "Letters From the Old Home Place" -
Anxieties and Aspirations in Rural New England, 1836 - 1843. It is from
the White Family Collections at Old Sturbridge Village and the Boylston
Historical Society Archives, with selections and commentary by Mary Babson
Fuhrer. Between 1836 and 1843, the White Family of rural Boylston, MA,
sent weekly letters, filled with family and community news, hopes, and
fears, to their apprenticed son in Boston. Great summer reading!! $15 +
postage & handling. It is also available at the gift shop. For more info go
here:
http://www.ultranet.com/~boyhisoc/gift.htm
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BHS NEWS -
1999 -2000 PROGRAMS
All Programs are held at the Society and are open to the public.
Donations at the door are gratefully accepted!
Friday, Oct. 15, 1999 at 7:30 pm.
"In Defense of the Common-Wealth: Arms,Armor and Military Organization of
Seventeenth-Century New England" by Walter J. Karcheski Jr. curator Higgins
Armory Museum of Worcester.
Friday, Novenber 19, 1999 at 7:30 pm.
"History of West Boylston" by Frank Brown of the West Boylston Historical
Society.
Friday, Dec. 10, 1999 at 7:30 pm
Millenium Time Capsule Sealing Ceremony
Friday, Feb. 18, 1999 at 7:30 pm
"Genealogy for the Beginner" - Bill Dupuis and Betty Thomas
Finding your roots is a fun and interesting hobby. This program
will show you how to get started and will include both traditional
and computer approaches.
info packet: $4
Friday, March 18, 1999 at 7:30 pm
"Genealogy Research" - Bill Dupuis and Betty Thomas
Where do you go and what do you look for? This program will
help give your research a direction whether you are at the
library or on the Internet.
info packet: $4
Friday, April 15, 1999 at 7:30 pm -
"How to Take Oral History" by Judith Haynes
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New Book!!!!
The entire BHS staff is working on putting together photos and captions for
a new book. The book will be published by Acacdia Publishing. You may
have seen some of their books in the major book stores - take a look next
time you are at the mall. They are photo essays of a town, city, or area.
It will be spring before you will see the Boylston book. We will have
copies for sale also, so remember to buy yours from BHS. We will keep you
updated on progress and when the book will be available for sale.
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BHS Wish List:
These are items the Society could really use. Is there an angel out there
who can make a wish come true?
1. overhead projector
2. small under the counter refrigerator (the one we had died, may it rest
in peace!)(Norman has no place to put the milk for his coffee!)
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Volunteers Needed!!!
BHS needs volunteer transcribers. We have many manuscripts in need of
transcribing. This can be done at home on your computer. We photcopy the
pages so YOU can work at home. Do you know how to save a file in .rft or
.txt ? WE also have the following word processing software - MS Works,
MS Word, Wordperfect, or Lotus WordPro. We will supply the floppy disk to
save the files on. WE ARE WAITING TO HEAR FROM YOU !!
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Boylston Genealogy Queries--
Put your Boylston Query Here!
Since no one sent in any queries and no one replied to Fred's queries, we
will leave Fred's on this month.
Three Boylston mysteries from Fred Brown:
send info to: "Frederick Brown"
1) What was the final fate of Lucy Keyes - lost child of Wachusett Mountain?
2) Who was the murdered woman whose skeletal remains were found under the
granite stoop of a Boylston home in the early 1800's?
3) There is a question about the exact location of Tory Cave. Where is it
located?
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On The Web--
There are currently six free classes available through
http://www.idea.edu/courses/general/gen/index.html
and more will be added soon.
Rootsweb intro to Genealogy
http://www.rootsweb.com/~rwguide/index.htm
Everton Genealogy - getting started
http://www.everton.com/genealogy/ols/resource-index.htm
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Humor - Music Man
A tourist in Vienna is going through a graveyard and all of
a sudden he hears some music. No one is around, so he starts
searching for the source.
He finally locates the origin and finds it is coming
from a grave with a headstone that reads:
Ludwig van Beethoven,
1770-1827.
Then he realizes that the music is the Ninth Symphony and it
is being played backward! Puzzled, he leaves the graveyard and
persuades a friend to return with him. By the time they arrive
back at the grave, the music has changed. This time it is the
Seventh Symphony, but like the previous piece, it is being
played backward. Curious, the men agree to consult a music
scholar.
When they return with the expert, the Fifth Symphony is
playing, again backward. The expert notices that the symphonies
are being played in the reverse order in which they were
composed, the 9th, then the 7th, then the 5th.
By the next day the word has spread and a throng has
gathered around the grave. They are all listening to the
Second Symphony being played backward.
Just then the graveyard's caretaker ambles up to the group.
Someone in the group asks him if he has an explanation for
the music.
"Don't you get it?" the caretaker says incredulously.
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Guess now, before scrolling down ...
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HEY! No cheating, make a guess before scrolling.
Not even a wild guess before scrolling?
He's decomposing.
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PERMISSION TO REPRINT articles from PotpourrEMAIL is granted
unless specifically stated otherwise, PROVIDED: (1) the reprint
is used for non-commercial, educational purposes; and (2) the
following notice appears at the end of the article:
Written by
Previously published by PotpourrEMAIL,
PotpourrEmail, Vol. 1, No. 1, 1 June 1999. Please visit
Boylston Historical Society and Museum's main Web page at
.
This newsletter is distributed monthly, on the first day of the month,
to all Boylston Historical Society members (who have email!), genealogists
and friends who have a special interest in the history of the town of
Boylston.
To subscribe or unsubscribe to the PotpourrEmail, or to submit information to
be included in the PotpourrEmail, e-mail info to:
boyhisoc@ma.ultranet.com
Boylston Historical Society and Museum
7 Central St., PO Box 459, Boylston, MA 01505
508-869-2720
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